Many people are aware that the voters just elected Republicans to control the entire state government from the governor and executive council, to the New Hampshire Senate and the New Hampshire House. However, it is county offices that really show how dominate Republicans were in winning control of the New Hampshire government. 87% of the county offices with a Republican candidate went to the Republican candidate. Only 40% of the county offices with a Democratic candidate went to the Democratic candidate.

Republicans won 71% of the 73 county office positions up for election in 2016. Democrats only won 29%.

52 out of the 60 Republicans that ran were elected. 21 out of the 52 Democrats that ran were elected.

Half of the counties only elected Republicans to county offices. The most populated county, with both of New Hampshire’s major cities, only elected 1 Democratic candidate to county office. No counties only elected Democrats to county offices.

New Hampshire Counties Map

Only 292,000 out of the 1,331,000 people in New Hampshire live in counties where Democrats won the most county offices. However, 2 of the 3 county commissioners in Cheshire County are Republicans, so that county government is controlled at least in part, by Republicans. Republican county officials control counties where 78% of the New Hampshire population live. Only 16% of the New Hampshire population lives in the 2 counties controlled by Democratic county officials.

County office breakdown by county in order of population:
Hillsborough County (407,000)
Republicans won 88% of the county races
7 out of 8 Republicans
1 out of 8 Democrats

Rockingham County (302,000)
Republican won 100%
7 out of 7 Republicans
0 out of 6 Democrats

Merrimack County (148,000)
Republican won 100%
7 out of 7 Republicans
0 out of 4 Democrats

Strafford County (127,000)
Democrats won 88%
1 out of 2 Republican
7 out of 7 Democrats

Grafton County (89,000)
Democrats won 71%
3 out of 6 Republicans
5 out of 6 Democrats

Cheshire County (76,000)
Democrats won 86%
1 out of 4 Republicans
6 out of 7 Democrats

Belknap County (61,000)
Republican won 100%
7 out of 7 Republicans
0 out of 1 Democrats

Carrol County (47,000)
Republican won 100%
7 out of 7 Republicans
0 out of 4 Democrats

Sullivan County (43,000)
Republican won 100%
7 out of 7 Republicans
0 out of 4 Democrats

Coos County (31,000)
Republicans won 71%
5 out of 5 Republicans
2 out of 5 Democrats

On the night before the New Hampshire election, many voters in New Hampshire will be asking the same question: of the many candidates on the ballot, which viable candidates will vote to reduce the size of government? By then it’s too late to research the candidates, so LibertyBallot.com did the research for you.

Not sure how to vote? Not sure where to vote? The Liberty Ballot FAQ, located at the bottom of the website, answers these questions and more.

Free State Project participants undeniably made a major difference in the most important election of the year in New Hampshire. The mayor of New Hampshire’s largest city was just reelected by only 64 votes. Without help from the Free State Project participant created www.LibertyBallot.com, the mayor would have lost. LibertyBallot.com used Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other get out the vote efforts to promote the mayor’s campaign to hundreds of liberty-minded Manchester voters.

The end result is that every home owner in Manchester, New Hampshire will save several hundred dollars over the next few years in property taxes compared with the alternative. The 2016 property tax rate for Manchester was recently released. With the property tax rate cut, many New Hampshire home owners will even enjoy lower property tax bills next year.

Linda Horan and her family have a lot to give thanks for this Thanksgiving. Linda just defeated Governor Maggie Hassan and her so-called Department of Health and Human Services in court. Linda sued the state of New Hampshire, saying that the state was wrong to prevent her from purchasing the pain medicine she had a legal and moral right to purchase.

In order to force Linda to suffer as much as possible, Governor Hassan’s administration waited until the final day to act on the case. The New Hampshire judge wasn’t having any of it! The Merrimack County Superior Court judge ruled this week that the New Hampshire Governor’s administration must follow the law and issue Linda a medical marijuana card.

Governor Hassan and her cronies refused to comment on the order to follow New Hampshire law. However, Democrat State Representatives in New Hampshire and Maine praised the Merrimack County Superior Court defeat of Governor Hassan. New Hampshire Democrat Representative Renny Cushing said, “It’s outrageous that at this point in time, 28 months after the Legislature passed a medical marijuana law, that not a single card has been issued.” Maine Democrat Representative Diane Russell offered to let Linda live with her in Maine.

BTW, the only other state in the Eastern United States with a very low unemployment rate is border state Vermont.

At 3.0%, Sullivan County has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in NH. The rate in Grafton County is 3.1%. Merrimack County and Belknap County follow at 3.2%. The rate is 3.3% in Strafford County.

According to new research by Doctor Jason Sorens at Pileus, Montana, New Hampshire and Alaska are the most libertarian states in the nation. By that, Doctor Sorens isn’t saying that the three states are the freest, but that voters are most likely to be libertarian. In 2003, thousands of libertarians voted on which state the Free State Project should select. New Hampshire came in first place. Montana was third place.

According to Doctor Sorens, the least libertarian states are New Jersey, Connecticut, Alabama, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and is Mississippi dead last. I’m sure nobody was surprised to learn Mississippi did so poorly.

New Hampshire’s unemployment rate is now 3.9%. That’s well below the 5.5% national rate! For the second month in a row, New Hampshire has the lowest unemployment rate in the Eastern United States. Stand out cities include Lebanon at 2.9%, Portsmouth at 3.3%, and Dover at 3.5%. Neighbor state Vermont has the second lowest unemployment rate in the East. North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation. Mississippi, Nevada, and the District of Columbia have the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Employment is up and unemployment is down in the Granite State. In fact, employers are complaining that there aren’t enough people looking for work in New Hampshire. Are you a liberty activist looking for work? Help New Hampshire employers by helping yourself.

The job fair, organized by New Hampshire Employment Security, attracted fewer than half the people in the first hour than a similar one held there last June. Employment Security Commissioner George Copadis said Tuesday’s venue was changed only last Friday and that job fairs around the state are seeing fewer job seekers. “Lower unemployment,” he said. “People have found work.” – See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20150311/NEWS02/150319849

Looking for a job in New Hampshire? There are lots of helpful resources linked to in the Free State Project Forum. Check out the upcoming New Hampshire job fairs. If you are on Facebook, consider joining the FSP Job Alert page, for job listings and general support from the Porcupine community. Happy hunting!